Radiology Services in Melbourne

• Xray
• CT (excluding cardiac CT)
• MRI (excluding specialised abdominal and pelvic MRI)
• Ultrasound
• CT and ultrasound guided injections, Biopsy and Fine needle Aspiration

For MRI, CT and ultrasound, appointments are required. As X-rays are usually quick, you can walk in and depending on the workload there may be a short wait. Priority of course will be given to patients who have scheduled an appointment. If there are any major delays due to a high workload, please ask reception staff as to what the anticipated time you will be seen.

Not yet, however coming soon! You can make an online request and our staff will call you during business hours.

Medicare card (if not on our records already), OHSC card (if applicable for overseas students), any prior relevant scans (or reports) and if not already emailed/faxed through, referral letter and authority/approval letters from third party providers, where relevant (TAC, DVA, Workcover)

Yes, you can, however there is a finite amount of space in the clinic, so please avoid bringing multiple people.

Most scans are reported and sent to your referrer on the same day, usually all on the following morning. If urgent, reports can be sent through as soon as possible, including rung through to your doctor. Delays may occur with clinical workload on the day and complexity of cases which may require more time to analyse the images, compare with prior scans/reports (including arranging permission access online, which is dependent on other clinics to arrange) and so forth. Our online app is also available at the clinic that not only will you receive the images on the day of your visit, however will enable you to receive the report after seven days.

You can download an app using your smartphone where you’ll receive your images two hours following your appointment.

Confirmation texts are sent 48 hours before your appointment, not as soon as you’ve made your booking. If there is any doubt, please contact us.

Fees are discussed at the time of booking where you’ll be informed of the expected cost of the examination. This may change upon reviewing the referral and/or during your visit should circumstances changes. We are a private clinic so most examinations will incur a fee above that that is covered by Medicare. Radiology fees are complex, as there are many examinations with different rebates for different body parts, patients requiring multiple examinations and funding provided by other parties other than Medicare so we do our best to provide you with the most accurate fee as possible.

You’ll need to arrive 15 minutes earlier than your scheduled time. Reception will then provide you an MRI safety and clinical information consent form to complete. Once ready, our radiographer staff will escort you to the clinical area, where you’ll be changed into a gown and the crucial safety information verbally confirmed with you. Any jewellery, where possible is to be removed, as well as watches, other accessories/items upon your person (hearing aids). Valuables will be placed in a locker and then taken into the MRI scanner where you’ll lie down for the examination, a coil may be placed over the body part to be scanned and a set of headphones for you to listen to music. Cushions, pillows and a blanket are also provided to keep you comfortable as required so you have a relaxing and pleasant experience, as well as lie comfortably as still as possible.

There is no need to fast from fluids or solids prior to an MRI scan.

As you will be changed into a gown, please wear easily to remove clothing and if possible, remove jewellery prior as occasionally this can take a protracted period of time.

Yes, an MRI is safe during all stages of pregnancy.

No. Even though many new generation pacemakers are able to scanned in an MRI nowadays, they do require cardiac monitoring in the MRI scanner, full intensive care/hospital setting back up, as well as the pacemaker vendor’s staff to be in attendance, which is not possible at our outpatient clinic.

Yes, you can. Please advise our reception staff at the time of booking so you come in an hour earlier for an oral sedative, as well as bring someone to drive you home. Be reassured, our radiographers will be in contact with you at all times via the headphones and you will have a hand-held buzzer with you so you can terminate the scan at any time. The body part to be scanned will be in the centre of the bore of the scanner, so your head may very well be out of the scanner, or close enough. Please note, if you are having an MRI of the brain, cervical spine or of the shoulder, you’ll definitely be in the centre of the bore of the scanner. A work around is to close your eyes and breathe slowly. There is nothing to fear and our friendly staff are here to ensure you have the best experience possible. Our new scan room is airy, well lit, with new wonderful scenery installed and the scanner itself extremely quiet compared to prior experiences you may have had where loud noises emitted by the machine may have created a sense of alarm. Relax and enjoy some rare “me” time from the daily stresses of life! It will be over before you know it.

Most scans do not require contrast; however, this depends on the clinical question, which you’ll be advised of at the time of booking and/or when you arrive. Rarely, this is also determined at the time of your scan due to an unexpected finding whilst you’re on the table so as to provide our doctors more information so as to avoid recalling you at a later time. Naturally this is done with your consent and of course you can refuse. If it is known prior to your scan that you’ll require contrast, a small intravenous cannula will be inserted in your arm prior to the scan. The intravenous cannula injection feels like having a blood test.

No. An MRI scanner manipulates the molecules in our body using radiofrequency pulses, making the molecules resonate, with the energy released as the molecules relax that are then detected by the scanner to provide an image. There are no short or long-term deleterious effects on the body’s tissues.

Occasionally a very subtle painless tingling feeling can be felt on the skin surface as the scan is taking place. You’ll have headphones to listen to background music and our technician will be updating you during the scan in relation to your progress. If you’re in pain, feeling uncomfortable, anxious or cold, please let us know and we will do our best. We know it can be difficult to lie still and be placed in the necessary position to obtain the clearest images possible, however our staff will work with you; this includes using rapid acquisition images, motion correction software, performing the critical sequences first and taking a mini-break in between sequences. We want you to have the best experience. At all times, you’ll have a hand-held buzzer should you wish to terminate the scan.

Most single body region scans take approximately 20 minutes or less of being on the MRI table. Add to that coming in 15 minutes early for completing the safety form, changing into and a gown, back into your clothes and administration, generally speaking 45 minutes to an hour is required to complete the entire walk-in, walk-out process.

Yes, you can. Please advise our reception staff at the time of booking so you come in an hour earlier for an oral dose of sedative. You’ll need to bring someone to drive you home.

• You’ll be given a consent form to complete and where applicable, an information sheet.
• Depending on the procedure, you may be changed into a gown.
• You’ll then be placed in the CT scanner, with some preliminary images performed so as to locate the site to be injected. This will then be marked.
• A radiologist will then come and discuss the procedure with you.
• Once commenced, the skin is wiped with antiseptic, local anaesthetic injected into the skin, which typically feels like someone pinching you, then go numb.
• A fine needle is then introduced through the anesthetised site, advanced and adjusted, taking images until the structures to be injected is reached and medication administered.
• If undergoing a biopsy, the needle is advanced to the desired location, at which point, a specimen is then taken. Typically, several specimens are required, so multiple passes will be made so to achieve a confident pathologic diagnosis.
• Once complete, a small dressing is applied and you can then change.
• If undergoing a musculoskeletal procedure, generally you’ll wait in the clinic for a short period of time (typically ten minutes).
• If undergoing a biopsy, you’ll be placed in the recovery bay with a cool compress applied for 20-30 minutes and thereafter free to go.

• You’ll be given a consent form to complete and where applicable, an information sheet.
• Depending on the procedure, you may be changed into a gown.
• A radiologist will then come and discuss the procedure with you
• You’ll then be placed on the ultrasound couch, with a probe and jelly applied to the skin to locate the region to be injected.
• If undergoing a simple musculoskeletal procedure (eg bursal injection) once commenced, the skin is wiped with antiseptic and if a simple one pass injection is required, a fine needle (usually the same gauge as a local anaesthetic needle) is passed through the skin and the site to be targeted injected with the medication, often resulting in a pressure feeling which then resolves rapidly due to the local anaesthetic that the medication is mixed in with starting to work.
• If you’re undergoing a biopsy, fine needle aspiration (FNA) or a slightly more complex musculoskeletal procedure (drainage of a cyst), the skin is wiped with antiseptic, local anaesthetic injected into the skin, which typically feels like someone pinching you, then go numb. In some instances, a nerve block may be administered (eg plantar fascia injection) so as to make the injection procedure as pain free as possible.
• A fine needle is then introduced through the anesthetised site, advanced and adjusted, taking images until the structures to be injected is reached and medication administered (in a musculoskeletal procedure) or a specimen taken, if you’re undergoing a biopsy or FNA. Typically, several specimens are required, so multiple passes will be made so to achieve a confident pathologic diagnosis.
• A dressing is then applied.
• If undergoing a musculoskeletal procedure, generally most are free to go once the procedure is complete.
• If undergoing a biopsy/FNA, you’ll be rested on the same ultrasound bed, with a cool compress applied for a short period of time, depending on the procedure, ranging from 5-10 minutes, depending on the procedure. Of course, you’ll be advised at the time.

You’ll be advised of this at the time of booking. Generally speaking, these are abdominal ultrasounds which require fasting (overnight is best), kidney & bladder ultrasounds, as well a internal female pelvic scans, which require water intake so that the bladder is distended. You’ll be advised of this at the time of booking. Females requiring an internal pelvic scan will need to complete a separate consent form and are welcome to bring a companion as a chaperone.

Jelly is applied to the skin, upon which a probe slides over to obtain the necessary images. As a degree of pressure is required, you’ll be asked if it is comfortable, however please at any time let us know if it is painful.

Most single region body scans take about 20 minutes. Vascular scans (veins and arteries) typically take longer (30-40 minutes).

Yes, they do. CT scanners are effectively a mobile X-ray tube that spins around the patient in a bore to achieve a three-dimensional image that is significantly superior than that achieved with an X-ray.

• If requiring contrast (dye) you’ll need to fast for 4-6 hours (in case of vomiting, the most common contrast reaction), unless your situation is urgent and the minor chance of vomiting is accepted as part of the process of obtaining a rapid diagnosis that may alter the management of the patient.
• We will need to know if you are diabetic, suffer from renal failure, renal, hyperthyroidism or have a history of allergies to contrast.
• Patients over 70 are screened for renal disease and as such are require to provide a blood test of their renal function within the last 12 months so as to ensure they have adequate renal function.

• Contrast is usually required for visualising organs and blood vessels. Hence many CT chests (though not all) and the majority of CT scans of the neck, abdomen, pelvis and all angiograms will require contrast.
• Most CT scans of the musculoskeletal system, spine and brain do not require contrast.
• Some CT spinal injections (nerve root injections) require a tiny dose of contrast (1-2cc) so as to demonstrate accurate needle placement.

• Yes, pacemakers are totally safe in a CT scanner.

Modern CT scanners use far less radiation than years gone by, however are reserved for pregnant patients only when other tests cannot yield a diagnosis, or where the benefits of the scan outweigh the risks to the mother and unborn child. If the area to be scanned does not involve the abdomen and pelvis, then the unborn child will only be exposed to scatter radiation which is far less than being exposed to the primary X-ray beam. The decision to image a pregnant patient is not taken lightly and is usually discussed between yourself and your doctor, as well as between yourself and our team. If needing to undergo only a CT injection, then the radiation used is even less than a diagnostic scan as only a minor amount of radiation is required to simply see a needle and the body part to be injected.

Most patients feel a warm, flushing sensation, a metallic taste or a feeling to urinate, all of which resolve rapidly.

Reactions are rare, even minor ones, which are the most common; nausea, vomiting, dizziness, itching. Serious reactions are exceedingly rare, such as anaphylaxis and of naturally are attended to instantly. Our staff possess the necessary training and we are equipped to support patients in these rare circumstances.

• You can however generally this is not required because CT scans only take a several minutes at most (some less than a minute), your head is usually out of the bore and the bore of the scanner is significantly shorted than an MRI scan, so you can easily see on either side of it.
• If you still feel that you will require sedation, then please let us know so you can arrive an hour earlier for the procedure. You’ll need someone to drive you home.